10 p.m.
Fujiwara Chika, who had already returned home and studied seriously for two hours, stretched lazily.
Her well-proportioned curves were fully on display—unfortunately, Tanaka Masao wasn't here to witness the scene.
Speak of Tanaka Masao, and Tanaka Masao appears…
In Fujiwara Chika's mind.
Thinking that Tanaka Masao had probably arrived home by now, she picked up her phone, opened LINE, and sent him a message.
[Tanaka-kouhai, did you get home safely?]
After a short wait, a reply came through.
[I did. Thank you for your concern, Fujiwara-senpai.]
Seeing the reply, Fujiwara Chika leaned back, settling into a comfortable position as she continued typing.
[Hey, Tanaka-kouhai, let me ask you something.]
[What kind of question? Go ahead—but I don't promise I'll answer.]
[You're really not handsome at all, Tanaka-kouhai. At times like this, shouldn't you say something like "No matter what you ask, I'll answer it"?]
[But what if Fujiwara-senpai asks for my measurements or something?]
[Who would ask for your measurements?!]
In reality, Fujiwara Chika stared at the words on the screen, her cheeks turning slightly red.
She pictured Tanaka Masao—who would be interested in his measurements anyway?
[Seriously, Tanaka-kouhai, you get way too bold online. Fine, what I want to ask is: why is that person your idol?]
Her hand tightened slightly around her phone, eyes fixed on the screen as she waited for a reply.
She had looked into Yamagami Tetsuya's background before. She even knew that his reputation among the public wasn't entirely negative.
Naturally, that was because the current government wasn't exactly inspiring confidence.
She was curious whether Tanaka Masao admired him because he was dissatisfied with the current state of society.
Understanding this kind of mindset would also help her in the future when she ran for Prime Minister.
[You mean that person? There's actually no special reason. I just…]
Fujiwara Chika stared at her phone, but after waiting for quite a while, there was no continuation.
[Just what? Hurry up, Tanaka-kouhai, don't leave me hanging.]
On the other end, seeing that she was getting impatient, Tanaka Masao finally replied at his own leisurely pace.
[I just wanted to give you a shot.]
Fujiwara Chika: [щ(゜ロ゜щ)?]
A moment later, Fujiwara Chika finally processed it and replied angrily.
[Hmph! Tanaka-kouhai is bullying me again. You're so mean. I'm not talking to you anymore.]
After sending that, she tossed her phone onto the bed, crossed her arms, and decided to ignore him.
But not long after, the notification sound rang again.
Fujiwara Chika glanced at her phone, hesitated for a moment.
"Whatever. I only said I wouldn't talk to him—I didn't say I wouldn't look at my phone. And what if it's a message from someone else?"
Saying that, she walked over and picked the phone up again.
It was still a message from Tanaka Masao.
[Then get some rest early, Fujiwara-senpai. Remember to review properly—if there's anything you don't understand, you can come ask me.]
Seeing this, Fujiwara Chika couldn't help but smile.
"Ask you? Tanaka-kouhai is really full of himself. I'm the senpai here—you should be the one asking me."
She hesitated for a moment, then typed a few words.
[Good night.]
"As a member of the Fujiwara family, I should be polite," she told herself, finding an excuse.
After waiting a bit longer with no new messages, she finally went to wash up and get ready for bed.
What Fujiwara Chika didn't know was that when Tanaka Masao said he wanted to "give her a shot," it wasn't just a joke.
That casual remark would actually come true years later.
Only, that "one shot" would be—
[Do you want the gun in my hand, or do you want my gun?]
Tanaka Masao, the [Hero of the Gun].
...
Meanwhile, Tanaka Masao—who had just finished chatting with Fujiwara Chika—was also talking to other people.
Eriri: [Tanaka, you bastard. If you dare stay over today, I swear I'll kill you.]
[Whoa, Eriri, why are you so fired up?]
[Because of the new doujin you sent over! I won't even talk about Sunflower, but what the hell is Hydrangea?!]
[What's wrong with that one? I think it's pretty good.]
[The plot, the plot! Yoko is such a pure and adorable school idol, and she's childhood friends with Itakawa—and you had the nerve to throw in some random blond bastard?!
Tanaka Masao, your crime deserves death! I swear, I'll wipe out all NTR protagonists in the world!]
Even through the screen, Tanaka Masao could feel Eriri's resentment.
Only then did he remember—Eriri was a die-hard childhood-friend-route supporter.
Seeing such a perfect childhood-friend heroine ruined like that would obviously make her furious.
Honestly, it was a good thing the heroine this time was a black-haired, straight-haired type. If she'd been a blonde twin-tail, Eriri would've already slaughtered her way from Tokyo to Chiba.
But really, this was nothing yet. If she couldn't handle this, what would she do when Pure ___ Waltz came out later? She'd probably lose her mind.
Better not provoke her further. He could only go ask Sawamura Sayuri on the side to get a sense of Eriri's situation.
[Sayuri-san, Eriri seems really angry.]
[That's right. Today she was shouting that no matter what, Hydrangea must not be printed, saying it's the greatest enemy of the childhood-friend faction.
But don't worry, Tanaka-kun. I'm not part of the childhood-friend faction—I'll publish it normally. I want everyone to see such an excellent work, too.]
[Then I'll leave it to you, Sayuri-san.]
[By the way, Tanaka-kun, you didn't stay today because of exams, right? After they're over, you must come by and let big sister treat you properly.]
[But Eriri…]
[Oh, relax. Something this small—Eriri will definitely forget about it in a couple of days.]
Looking at Sawamura Sayuri's message, Tanaka Masao didn't believe it at all.
If he remembered correctly, Eriri held grudges very well.
Well, whatever. If the system ended up giving him Pure ___ Waltz, he'd just gift it to her to help her cool down.
Eriri: need tomato
[Alright, I'll come when I have time.]
After sending that message, Tanaka Masao opened another chat window.
[Tanaka-kun, are you back from Tokyo?]
The message was from Yukinoshita Yukino.
[I'm back. I didn't expect Yukinoshita-san to actually worry about me.]
[Worry about you? You're overthinking it, Tanaka-bacteria. We're studying all day tomorrow, so I'm just reminding you to get proper rest.
If you start dozing off tomorrow, don't blame me for being harsh.]
[Studying all day, huh… that really does sound exciting. Well then, good night, Yukinoshita-san. See you tomorrow.]
[Good night. See you tomorrow.]
Tanaka Masao put his phone down and stretched.
"I really am busy, huh."
Feeling a bit worn out, he turned off the lights and fell into a deep sleep.